


Almost Gone

by thatonefandomwriter



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: As close to a first kiss as you can get for 900 year old aliens who regenerate, Blood and Injury, Even for like .2 seconds, First Kiss, First adventure, I wanted an excuse to make the doctor swear/fuck shit up, Its ends very nicely, Its fanfiction it doesnt matter how we got to this situation, M/M, Minor Violence, Post-Episode: s03e13 Last of the Time Lords, Shooting Guns, Sort of zombie au?, Tbh no one else is writing these so i might as well, They shoot guns instssd of using hightech alien screwdrivers, This rare pair is getting rarer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 20:42:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16647428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonefandomwriter/pseuds/thatonefandomwriter
Summary: The TARDIS has them stranded in London far into the future and upon exploring the Doctor and Master find out that the world has become overrun by starving zombies.How are they going to get back on board in one peace?





	Almost Gone

Bunkered in London as a what he could only describe as a zombie hoard marched past him. He had been stranded, the TARDIS injured in her landing and needed time to repair. They decided to explore the strange Earth, and got stranded, being too dangerous to stay out of buildings for long. Now all he could do was wait it out, in a horrible situation. He tried to reason, see what happened to humanity- but there were no humans left ask. No trace of the species that dominated the planet. He watched the hoard stumble past them, unknowing that two men stood breathing in the building to their left. There had to be a way to locate whatever started this, and try to fix it. There had to be a cause, and ultimately a solution. He froze when a gun was placed in his lap, round eyes staring up at the Time Lord in front of him. He didn't know how to use a gun, he didn't want to learn how either. There was something that made him uneasy to even touch the cool metal under his fingertips. 

“Well your Sonic won't do anything and my Screwdriver is barely working as it is. I have one too.” The Master made sure to keep his voice low, sighing at the other's heavy sense of morality. “They're not even human anymore!” He hissed, his eyes darted to make sure he hadn't caught the attention of anything outside. He stayed low and out of sight of the window, and utilizing any survival skills he remembered. He got closer to the other, he then gently placed his head on the other's shoulder, he winced when he accidentally pressed the gash on his forehead against the other and quickly readjusted. He knew that times of great distress and planet wide death always caused intense feelings. It was understandable, they had both seen horrible conflict. He slowly looked up to the Doctor, and for a moment there was tenderness. 

The Doctor leaned his head back against the wall when he felt weight distinctly on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around the other's shoulders, wincing slightly at injuries already formed. “We have to get back to the TARDIS. She should be ready to go.” He whispered, his eyes squeezing tight. “We can try to break before night fall or wait until morning.” He frowned, leaning in closer so his lips momentarily pressed to the other's temple. He nodded frankly when he was told it would be best to leave as soon as possible. He slowly got up on his feet and pulled the Master up as well. He crouched down and grabbed the gun, setting his jaw. He cocked the gun and there was a memory, and suddenly he knew how to shoot again. He didn't know when he shot someone, but the idea made him sick. He knew whoever it was he shot was killed. His eyes widened and he stumbled for a moment before his waist was grabbed. 

“Okay?” 

He nodded and opened the door to the room they had hidden in. “Okay. Let's go.” He took a deep breath and started down the stairs. He tried to keep as quiet as he could, but their shoes patted against the concrete steps. There was fear in his hearts because he knew there was a chance that they could get injured, or worse. The crisp air hit the Doctor's face and his muscles twitched at the cold. He looked down the street seeing a lone zombie walking aimlessly in the middle of the once busy street. He jerked his head in the opposite direction, the two of them broke into a sprint. Unfortunately, their running had caught the attention of a small swarm, the group chasing after them easily. He heard the Master curse and turn around to take a shot at the hoard, a zombie fell to the ground with a spray of gore. 

“Keep running.” The Master growled, his feet pounded against the street. They continued on for nearly five minutes more, the hoard behind them never letting up. He grabbed the Doctor's arm to stop him from continuing, four more zombies shuffled in front of them. The stench of decaying flesh nauseated him, their looks weren't any better. He lined up a shot and fired, his fear made him miss and hit the zombie's shoulder. “Shit!” He hissed, taking another shot and hitting the target right as he wanted. He took another shot, wincing at the sight of another monster falling. 

By the Doctor's calculation, judging by the date and his assumption of humanity's survivability- the zombies were starting to die of what was basically starvation. They were eager to find more food, and the Time Lords were a three course meal. He looked at the Master, eyes wide with fear and adrenaline. “We have to keep moving!” He shouted, grabbing the Master and leading him past the slow moving zombies. They started to run again, the mass gaining more to its numbers, probably drawn to the sounds of gunfire. He glanced back, there were nearly forty zombies chasing after them. He wasn't sure they could outrun them all, and they were running out of bullets fast. He tripped over a curb, cursing as he did. He pushed the other forward when he stumbled back. 

“Doctor!” The Master turned back around with fear, his eyes wide at the scene before him. 

The Doctor was grabbed by eager hands and long nails tearing into the sleeve of his suit coat. He grunted when his skin was torn into as well, his teeth gritting. “Bloody fucker!” He growled, quickly compensating by shoving the barrel of the handgun into the zombie's face and pulling the trigger. He turned his head to try and shield his face from any blood or bits of brain. He stumbled back into a sprint, trying to catch back up. He shook his head as guilt lurched up his throat, he had time to be morally torn up over the shot when they weren't running for their lives. He couldn't slow them down. The sun was setting quickly, and without the light of the sun, they were forced to trust the few stars in the sky and their own memory of where the TARDIS was parked. That was a horrible idea, even with their minds together. He knew the basic idea of where it was, which was about a half mile outside of the city. There was no way to get back before nightfall. They ducked into a building, staying as quiet as possible. The pair silently made it up the steps of the home, trying to scope out if it was a good place to hide. 

The Master was scared, half convinced that he was going to see the other die, and he was shaken by the very thought. When they ran into the building he wanted to say something about his fear, but the idea that he might get eaten alive was a bit more demanding. After checking out the first floor, they looked around the second. He saw nothing, which was reassuring, he took a deep breath and pulled the other into a bedroom and locked the door. “You're bleeding.” He remarked, panic filling his head. “It didn't bite you, did it?” His words were jumbled over each other as he set into action, he grabbed a bit of the bed sheet and ripped it off. He then placed it between his teeth and started to unbutton the other's suit coat and undershirt. He rolled his eyes at the Doctor's protests of the action, pulling out his injured arm and wrapping the makeshift bandage around it to try and stop the bleeding. “Have some faith in me.” He muttered, tying the sheet off and shoving the clothes back on the other, leaving him to fix his clothing himself. He waited a moment, not wanting to mention the fact that the other was almost torn to shreds. 

“You know you almost died, right? Why would I try to have sex with you?” He decided a comedic approach was the best way to approach what had happened, but neither of them laughed. 

The Doctor let the tiniest smile cross his lips at the comment, his nimble fingers working to rebutton his top. “It hasn't stopped you before.” He mumbled, turning to close the blinds of the room. “And I didn't almost die.” He added offhandedly, turning back around to the other. “I believe back at the academy you would have-” He fully smiled when a hand was pressed over his mouth, raising an eyebrow. He noticed the way that the Master smiled too, it was calm in the storm that was surrounding them. He winked at the other, understanding that now wasn't the best time. There was never a best time for them, though. 

The master smiled. They had to recenter and go out in the morning, they should get back to the TARDIS before nightfall. “Doctor,” he started, pressing his lips together. He wasn't sure what to do now that he had the other's attention. “You almost died. You were almost torn apart.” He chose not to pour salt in the wound and remind the other that he would have been eaten as well. He pressed his face into the Doctor's chest, slowly closing his eyes and listening to twin heart beats. He felt arms wrap around him, and he he let out a shaking breath. He didn't want to move, too scared to continue on his thoughts. He didn't want to think for more than a minute about how they had gotten to this point, but he didn't want to spoil it. He slowly pulled away to sit on the bed, the gun next to him on the nightstand. He watched as the Doctor sat next to him, seeming horrified by the experience of their first real encounter of the beasts that lay outside. 

“She probably had a family.” 

The Master raised an eyebrow, trying to think of the last woman they had talked to. “Who are you talking about?” 

“The woman I had shot.” The other explained, keeping his eyes on the ground. 

The Master rolled his eyes. “They're not people. Not sure what they are but they're not humans. Why would you care about that anyway? They'd make more humans if they were still alive.” He shrugged, an exhaustion setting into his bones. Time Lords rarely needed sleep, if they did there was something horribly wrong with their health. “And she tried to kill you despite all that.” He glanced down at the other's injured arm, he then scooted closer. He could tell the Doctor was still distraught over it, still thinking he had murdered an innocent women- and not something that had tried to tear him apart. The two waited for the sun centimeters away from each other. There was nothing like an alien zombie apocalypse to bring two people together. The hours passed slowly, but no words passed between them. He was sure that should have stopped the heavy silence, but the double heartbeat was enough to relax him and he could feel the other also refocusing. Soon enough the earliest hint of gold touched the sky and he almost cried with joy. 

“If we break straight for it, keeping close to the shops we should be okay.” The Master frowned, realizing that the other hadn't been listening. “Doctor.” He said into the other's ear, watching him jolt into the present reality. He sighed heavily and looked at the Time Lord. “As I was saying,” he started again. He explained his plan, annoyance just on the tip of his tongue as out of it the Doctor was acting. He grabbed the other's chin and made sure their eyes met, it was a silent way of tell the other to pay attention before he hit him with something. It was an old trick they had learned when they were children. The corners of his lips quirked up at the action so foreign and yet so familiar, it brought him back to a simpler time.

Once the plan was decided they had one solid shot at this before they were stuck another day, and he doubted either of them could handle another day of the stress. They grabbed the only possessions they had, the Doctor giving him the gun with more bullets. Their eyes locked and for a minute he wanted to kiss the other, but now was definitely not the right time. “Down the stairs, front door, then stay close.” He unlocked the door and opened it, leading them outside. There was no sign of anything. The streets were silent, and it was jarring. 

The Doctor took a deep breath and followed, his senses on edge, and it was making him hyper aware of everything in a one mile radius. When they walked it was him who noticed first, grabbing the other by the shoulder and pulling them down behind a car. He held his breath, listening for the footsteps to shuffle away from them, his anxiety rising higher and higher. It hadn't noticed them, and they were safe again. They spent the better half of the day running and hiding, trying to keep themselves safe. 

They were almost to the TARDIS, when they saw the swarm crowding and trying to push inside. “Damn it, Doctor. What's drawing them here?” The Master hissed, trying to get the other's attention. 

“I've been here before.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

The Master grit his teeth and followed after his seemingly suicidal counterpart, not wanting to meet the hoard head on. The walk across the field was tense, despite all of his complaints and suggestions that they make a distraction somewhere else and break for the ship. He glared every time that he was brushed off, wondering what sort of plan the Doctor had. When they were on the outskirts, the swarm didn't move, just continued clawing at the Tardis. He grabbed the other by the wrist when he reached out to touch one of them. “Don't you dare.” He hissed between his teeth, not wanting to see any more of the Doctor's blood. “They're dead, we shouldn't be here.” 

“I know they are.” The Doctor whispered, he then gave the other a look that said any apology he needed before touching the zombie standing in front of him on the side of the head. Slowly the swarm parted, giving them the ability to walk to the front door. The Master dragged him onto the TARDIS and slammed the doors shut behind them. He didn't stop apologizing to each zombie they passed, his hearts breaking for the creatures outside those doors. “I've been here before! They trusted it. In their subconscious they saw the TARDIS and trusted it.” He started pressing buttons and flipping switches, getting them off of earth and away from that London. “No idea when.” He added, his eyes on the center console, his hands gently running along the brass rim in a soothing manner. He ran a hand through his hair, his hearts ached knowing there was no way to help, and the best thing to do was run. He left those people wandering aimlessly, he left that woman in the alleyway with most of her face missing. 

“For the first night out, I think it went swimmingly!” The Master said, clearly having enough watching the other wallow in pity. He grabbed the Doctor's hands and pulled them away from his face. They were so close he could lean in and close the millimeter and close the distance between them. “They were already dead, it's okay to let them go.” He mumbled, able to feel the grief radiating off the other. He winced, staring down at their dirty, scrapped hands. He raised on of the Doctor's hands and kissed his injured knuckles, his eyes flashing up to see if the action was acceptable. His eyes fluttered closed when he felt a hand come up to cradle the side of his head. He reopened his eyes when he was pulled closer, watching the other for the next move. They stood like that for a long time, locked in a moment of hesitant tenderness. Finally, he had enough and gently kissed the corner of the other's lips, smiling slightly when he saw the way his Doctor's eyes closed lightly. It was fitting that the first kiss in their new bodies were with them covered in grime, and for some, blood. “Its okay.” He whispered again, reaching up to push back the other's sweaty hair.


End file.
